Lawyers' Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP)In 2010, a waste processing plant project was about to be launched in Dangraha village, Morang district. The government of Nepal and Finland involved in financing the project. A total of 27 Bigaha of land were acquired for the plant in Dangraha.
The project was going to affect Tetariya, Siswani, Badahara, Hatthimuda, and the Tanki Sinwari villages where Indigenous Peoples (Tharu, Uranw, Rajbansi, Magar, Rai, Limbu, Tamang, Bhujel) and other communities ( Bahun, Chhetri, Dalit, and Madhesi ) are densely populous.
The FPIC was not secured before setting up this plant. The project could have affected their life, livelihood, culture, and rituals. The plant was instituted by giving false information, without conducting a consultation with the communities.
The government is unwilling to implement the fundamental rights guaranteed in its Constitution. The project did not follow the proper procedure as provisioned under Land Acquisition Act, 1977. The government is unwilling to implement ILO convention no. 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The plant could have displaced the communities from their lands and polluted environment and Holly Rivers and devastated their livelihoods. The communities continuously resisted the project as a result the project has been withdrawn in the year 2012. LAHUNIP has provided technical support for community advocacy.